Tuesday, February 02, 2016

Accused Bisexual Abuser Hired by Multiple Schools

Days after Jinwoo Seong, 36, was fired by the New York Department of Education from Martin Van Buren High School in Queens for oral sex with a male student and groping numerous students of both sexes, he began teaching math at Don Bosco Technical Academy (middle school) in the Paterson, New Jersey school district, having passed the necessary background check.

“Jinwoo Seong’s inappropriate conduct makes it clear that he has no place in New York City public schools.”-- Richard Condon, Special Commissioner of Investigation, New York City School District (9/28/2015)Yet, the New York officials told Seong “this was in-house and ‘you don’t have to worry about this moving on.’”

In October, New Jersey OK’d Seong’s application to recognize his New York certifications — a month before he was fired from NYCs as schools investigator Richard Condon wrote in a letter he had “no place” in the schools, the report said. He started at Don Bosco in a $62,000 position on Dec. 7, the report said.

The [New York] Post reported that the investigation found he’d exposed himself to a male student, touched a girl’s breast and butt, cracked “gay jokes” and had a girl measure a boy’s genitals. The New York Deptartment of Education assigned Seong to a “rubber room” where he reported and sat all day until his firing was official on Nov. 30, according to the Post.

Seong has denied the allegations. Capt. James Smith, executive director of security and internal investigations for Paterson schools, told the Post that Seong passed a criminal background check because he was never charged with a crime.

Seong’s lawyer, Vincent White, said in a letter to Paterson officials that his client “has never been charged with any crime by local law enforcement.” White’s letter, dated Feb. 1, also described the New York City School District’s eight-page report accusing Seong of the sexual activity as “extremely flawed.”

White told Paterson officials that the New York report “ignored the fact that students gave inconsistent, hearsay statements and some alleged victims even denied the truth of the allegations until they were further prodded to confirm them.” White said students at Martin Van Buren High School in Queens were retaliating against Seong for calling their parents about discipline problems.

District officials said they were unaware of the New York investigation targeting Seong until contacted about the situation late last week by a reporter from the New York Post. The Post published a story about Seong on Sunday. The story said Seong’s termination by the New York education department took effect Nov. 30.

The report says Seong denied the allegations. Seong’s lawyer wrote to Paterson school officials that he hoped his client “will not be further victimized due to these baseless allegations made by some troubled students.”

Seong, who was fired, managed to get a new job in Jersey simply by not revealing his troubled past. The case shows how a teacher accused of shocking misconduct can slip through bureaucratic cracks and back into the classroom.

Capt. James Smith, executive director of security and internal investigations for Paterson schools, on Friday immediately ordered Seong’s removal from the classroom pending further inquiry when informed by The Post about Condon’s report.

“If you’ve been disciplined for inappropriate conduct with a student, we’ll take action,” Smith said he told Seong.

The state is investigating Seong to determine if he should be stripped of his license.